It's beginning to look a lot like an issue.

Same as last year's year-end issue, it looks like a very late December (say... 30? 31?) publication date for issue #7. About two months later than I'd have liked, but it's been worth the wait. Here are the cut-and-paste mostly unformatted contents:

Cover Art
Gearaffes Angi Shearstone

Fiction
# The Gearaffe Who Didn’t Tick D. K. Thompson illustrated by Angi Shearstone
# Fish Eyes Natania Barron illustrated by Brigid Ashwood
# Complications of the Flesh Jason Erik Lundberg illustrated by Jason Strutz
# Inseperables’ War Stephanie Ricker illustrated by Jason Strutz
# When Dreams Wake Jason K. Chapman illustrated by Indrapramit Das
# Friday Nite at the A&W J. P. Trostle illustrated by Gabriel Dunston

Poetry
# Letting Go Damon Shaw illustrated by Gabriel Dunston
# The Fall Queen Alexandra Seidel; One Hundred Years in the Wood Daniel A. Rabuzzi; increments lemuel harik; A Fembot’s Quantum Love Deborah Walker; Night Patrol Athena Andreadis; Laurels Mari Ness


Graphic Short
31 The Long Lives of Heroes

Jeremy Whitley and Jason Strutz

part 3 of 4

Interviews
# Into the Hinterlands David Drake and John Lambshead = Interview by Jeremy L. C. Jones; Essays by Toni Weisskopf, Mark L. Van Name, and John Lambshead
# The Children of the Sky Vernor Vinge = Review and Interview by Paul Kincaid
# The Master Trilogy C. S. Friedman = Review and Interview by Dan Campbell
# Circle Tide Rebecca K. Rowe = Review and Interview by C. D. Covington
# Panverse Three Dario Ciriello = Review and Interview by Rich Horton
# Zoo City Lauren Beukes = Interview by Preston Grassmann

Features
# Never Knew Another J. M. McDermott = Essay by John H. Stevens
# X-Minus One = Article by Peter Wood

Departments
# Happenings
# Reviews = The Clockwork Rocket Greg Egan by Paul Kincaid; The Goblin Corps Ari Marmell by Joseph Giddings; The Postmortal Drew Magary by J. P. Wickwire; The Rift Walker Clay and Susan Griffith by Natania Barron; Briarpatch Tim Pratt by Dustin Monk; Mr. Fox Helen Oyeyemi by Larry Nolen; Osama Lavie Tidhar by Paul Kincaid; The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow and Context Cory Doctorow by Nick Mamatas
62 Editorial

Whew.

Closed to fiction submissions until (at least) Friday, January 13

If you e-mail a submission to submissions@bullspec.com effective now, you'll get the following auto reply:

Thank you for sending a story to Bull Spec, but we are currently closed to fiction submissions, as of 1 AM EST, Friday December 9, 2011. We may not have updated the website or notified Duotrope or Ralan's, etc. but as we need to focus on reading and responding to the stories we have, we are returning this one unread. We hope to re-open to fiction submissions on Friday, January 13, 2012, but may remain closed longer depending on our reading progress. Thanks again for considering Bull Spec with a story, and we hope to hear from you again in future. 

If this is a query and it was erroneously detected as a story submission (for example, if it included an attachment) please e-mail submissions@bullspec.com without an attachment with your query; if all else fails, please contact sam@bullspec.com directly and I'll sort things out. 

Sincerely, 

Samuel Montgomery-Blinn, Publisher
Natania Barron and Eric Gregory, Fiction Editors
Sarah Rogers, Associate Fiction Editor
Bull Spec

Whew! We have a lot of reading to do over the next month, and I can't thank Sarah enough for her coming aboard as one of our first readers. I also can't thank all of the writers enough for all the submissions we get to settle in and read -- I'm looking forward to it.

Bull Spec local events e-mailing list: December 2011

Vol 1. No. 7, December 5, 2011:


Welcome to the December events newsletter from Bull Spec! I hope a lot of you made it out to see L.E. Modesitt, Jr. and Mary Doria Russell last month, and there are a ton of new events, including one tonight and several in early January, so look below and don't miss them. And there are several upcoming events to remind you of as well, from this Wednesday's John Kessel "Kafkaesque" event, to mid-January's illogiCon which is bringing Joe Haldeman back to the Triangle.


Meanwhile: Books! Books! Books! In your holiday shopping for yourself and friends and family, don't neglect to check out the absolutely massive list of books by local and regional authors which were published just this year: http://bullspec.blogspot.com/2011/11/2011-local-and-regional-author-holiday.html


Lastly... Wow. Issue #7 is late. It will be here before the end of the year, and I'm very sorry to all concerned for the delay. Also: Kickstarter rewards are finally coming in, to get out to all of you who so generously sponsored Year 3 as soon as I can.


-Sam


UPDATE: There's already one "NEW-NEW" event that I missed -- look for "NEW-NEW" below!

DECEMBER 2011

1: Local author new edition : Wake Forest's Michael Jasper's 2006 novel Heart's Revenge is now available in e-book from his own UnWrecked Press. More info: http://michaeljasper.net/novels/hearts-revenge/

NEW: 5 (Monday -- TONIGHT!) at 7 pm: Chapel Hill's Flyleaf Books hosts Hillary Jordan for a reading and signing of her near-future dystopian sf novel When She Woke -- a revisiting of the themes of The Scarlet Letter which sees convicted felons modified to have their entire skin color changed to match their crimes: red for murder, etc. More info: http://flyleafbooks.com/event/hillary-mantel-reads-signs-her-new-novel-when-she-woke -- and a Facebook event link here: http://www.facebook.com/events/318696298159235/


7 (Wednesday) at 7:30 pm: Quail Ridge Books: John Kessel and Ruth Gross for "An Evening with Franz Kafka and Friends", including Kessel's newest anthology, Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka -- http://tachyonpublications.com/book/Kafkaesque.html -- and a Facebook event link here: http://www.facebook.com/events/246822225374328/


9 (Friday) at 7:00 pm: Quail Ridge Books: Cassandra Clare brings her latest, Clockwork Prince.  In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting.Clockwork Prince is the sequel to Clockwork Angel, and part of theInfernal Devices trilogy.  For ages 12 and up.  Cassandra Clare is best known for her hugely popular Mortal Instruments series. SIGNING LINE TICKET EVENT - receive a signing line ticket with the purchase of any of Cassandra Clare's books. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/cassandra-clare-ya-novel-clockwork-prince


13: Local author new novel: Natania Barron, Pilgrim of the Sky from Candlemark & Gleam. "A novel that might be best described as mythpunk. With elements of fantasy, science fiction, Romantic poetry, steampunk, and multiverse theory, well, it isn’t exactly the sort of book that finds a comfortable little niche to sit in." More info: http://pilgrimofthesky.com/


NEW-NEW: 17 (Saturday), 4 pm to 7 pm: Chapel Hill Comics hosts the opening reception for their Kids' Art Show -- "As seen on Wired.com's Geek Dad!" at: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/12/north-carolina-kids-art-exhibit/


31 (Saturday), 9 pm to late: Downtown Pittsboro's Davenport and Winkleperry host The Clockwork Ball: A Steampunk Masquerade to usher in the New Year: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179760945440352

JANUARY 2012

2: Local author new novel: JL Hilton: Stellarnet Rebel from Carina Press: "A science fiction romantic thriller." More info including an excerpt: http://www.stellarnetrebel.com/


2: Local author new novel: Durham's Cate Tiernan's next book in her Immortal Beloved series, Darkness Falls, to be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

3: Local author new edition: The David Drake onmibus Voyage Across the Stars collects his Hammer’s Slammers novels Cross the Stars and Voyage. From Baen. More info: http://www.baen.com/order_isbn.asp?isbn=9781451637717

NEW: 5 (Thursday), 7 pm to 9 pm: Release party for local author JL Hilton's Stellarnet Rebel (see above) at Raleigh's Tir Na Nog.


NEW: 6 (Friday), 7 pm to 8 pm: Chapel Hill's Flyleaf Books hosts Marissa Meyer for a reading and signing of her debut novel Cinder: "Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg." More info on the novel, and a prequel short story, here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/12/glitches

13-15: New local SF convention illogiCon (January 13-15, 2012) in Raleigh with literary guest of honor Joe Haldeman. More info: http://illogicon.com/ -- Get registered and tell the programming committee what you want to see!


17: Regional author new novel: Greensboro's Orson Scott Card's newest novel, Shadows in Flight, to be published by Tor Books. More info: http://us.macmillan.com/book.aspx?isbn=9780765332004


NEW-NEW: 28 (Saturday), 3 pm: B&N New Hope Commons hosts the book release party for local author Natania Barron's December 2011 debut novel Pilgrim of the Sky (see above). "Steampunk attire optional!"


NEW-NEW: 28 (Saturday), 3 pm: Quail Ridge Books hosts Durham author Cate Tiernan for a reading and signing of her new YA novel Darkness Falls (see above).


NEW: 31 (Tuesday), 7 pm to 8 pm: Chapel Hill's Flyleaf Books hosts Drew Magary for a reading and signing of his debut novel The Postmortal -- published by Penguin in August: "Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors. Witty, eerie, and full of humanity,The Postmortal is an unforgettable thriller that envisions a pre-apocalyptic world so real that it is completely terrifying."

31: Local author book release: Solaris Books to publish the first book in a new fantasy series from Hillsborough author James Maxey, which starts with Greatshadow: http://www.solarisbooks.com/titles/title_details/greatshadow -- book #2, Hush, is due in July!

31: Regional author new novel: Charlotte's Gail Z. Martin's newest novel, The Dread, to be published by Orbit Books. Sequel to 2011's The Sworn and continuing her second series in her Chronicles of the Necromancer books. More info: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780316192361.htm

FEBRUARY 2012


NEW-NEW: 10 (Friday), 7:30 pm: Launch party for James Maxey's Greatshadow (see above for book info) at Quail Ridge Books: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/james-maxey-dragon-fantasy-greatshadow

12: Regional author new novel: J. M. McDermott's When We Were Executioners, book #2 in his Dogsland Trilogy from Night Shade Books after Never Knew Another, to be released: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12804203-when-we-were-executioners

MARCH 2012

1: Regional author new novel: South Carolina author T. C. McCarthy's Exogene, book #2 in his The Subterrene War series after 2011's Germline, to be released by Orbit Books: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11418025-exogene

1: Regional author new novel: J. M. McDermott's Maze to be published by Apex Books: http://jmmcdermott.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/welcome-to-the-maze-maze-is-coming-in-march-2012/

2-4: StellarCon (March 2-4, 2012) in High Point with literary guest of honor Patrick Rothfuss. More info: http://stellarcon.org/

27: Regional author new novel: Wilmington's David Macinnis Gill's Invisible Sun, sequel to his award-winning 2010 novel Black Hole Sun, to be published by Greenwillow Books.


APRIL 2012


3: Local author new novel: Baen to publish Pittsboro author David Drake's newest novel in his Lt. Leary RCN series, The Road of Danger. More info: http://baen.com/order_isbn.asp?isbn=9781451635158


10: Ex-local author new novel: Tor Books to publish Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamour in Glass, sequel to her debut novel Shades of Milk and Honey which she launched at ReConstruction in Raleigh in August, 2010.


MAY 2012


1: Local author new novel: Baen to publish Raleigh author Mark L. Van Name's newest novel in his Jon & Lobo series, No Going Back. More info: http://www.baen.com/order_isbn.asp?isbn=9781451638103


22: Local author new novel: Hillsborough's John Claude Bemis's The Prince Who Fell From the Sky to be published by Random House Books for Young Readers.

JUNE 2012

1-3: ConCarolinas (June 1-3, 2012) in Charlotte with writer guest of honor Jack McDevitt. More info: http://www.concarolinas.org/

21-24: ConTemporal (June 21-24, 2012) in Chapel Hill with literary guest of honor Cherie Priest and comic book guests of honor Studio Foglio. More info: http://contemporal.org/


JULY 2012


17: Regional author new novel: Tor to publish Greensboro author Orson Scott Card's (along with Aaron Johnson) Earth Unaware: The First Formic War.

31: Local author new novel: Solaris Books to publish Hillsborough author James Maxey's Hush -- continuing his new fantasy series which begins with Greatshadow in January (see above).

AUGUST 2012


1: Local editor new anthology: Raleigh author and anthologist John Kessel's latest anthology (co-edited with James Patrick Kelly) to be released: Digital Rapture: The Singularity Anthology from Tachyon Publications.


14: Local author new collection: Raleigh author Kij Johnson's fiction collection At the Mouth of the River of Bees to be published by Small Beer Press.


SEPTEMBER 2012


1: (Date TBD) Local author new novel: Raleigh authors Clay and Susan Griffith conclude their Vampire Empire series with book 3 (Title TBD) after 2010's The Greyfriar and 2011's The Rift Walker. From Pyr Books. More info: http://clayandsusangriffith.blogspot.com/


OCTOBER 2012


30: Regional author new novel: Greensboro author Orson Scott Card continues his Pathfinder (Simon Pulse, November 2010) series for young readers with Ruins.


END

Ending the radio silence with some burst broadcasts:

It's been nearly a month: no Bull Spec #7; no December newsletter; hardly anybody has gotten their Kickstarter gear in hand yet; etc. So, some bursts into the static:

• Yup, issue #7 is late. Still at least a week before it will be in a printable state. Very sorry to everyone concerned, not the least of which Candlemark & Gleam and Pyr, whose advertisements help make the issue possible, and whom I told it would be out mid last month. Still, some good news: Bull Spec has a real, legitimate designer now: Gabriel Dunston. His layouts are crisp and much more inventive than mine, though retaining the overall 2-column design and readability. The cover is coming along in most excellent fashion, with Angi Shearstone's illustration of D. K. Thompson's story, with Jeremy Zerfoss coming in to put the final cover design together. Thanks to new reviews editor Alex Ward, the reviews and interviews are being copy edited into shape. I'm quite proud of the stories in what is my next-to-last issue as fiction editor.
• The December newsletter is coming soon. There's a new event just around the corner, Hillary Jordan reads & signs her new novel When She Woke at Chapel Hill's Flyleaf Books on Monday, December 5th at 7 pm. Also, there'll be a full list of the local and regional author books I know about coming in 2012. A few January events are still to be finalized, but I'll give you what info I have.
• I did get all the Kickstarter "surveys" out and have been gathering them in, ordering books as needed, and I think now that we have a final pendant count we will get those underway. T-shirts to be ordered ASAP now that pretty much everybody has gotten back to me on size and style.
• Natania Barron's Pilgrim of the Sky is *in stock* at both Amazon.com and BN.com -- that probably means that you can order it from pretty much any bookstore you'd like to, though it's not in the IndieBound website catalog so it might be more of a special order.
• On the front of "getting some things done, cutting some things for later" I was going to finally put together a post covering the several writing (and reading) groups I know about, but I think that will wait for January.
• A couple of really nice Bull Spec news bits: SF Site reviews issue #6 very favorably and SF Signal's year-end mind meld mentions M. David Blake's "Absinthe Fish" as a story "which perfectly fulfills my criteria for "mind-blowing fiction."
• When I get around to it, I'll be closing Bull Spec to fiction submissions for the rest of the year.

Whew. OK. Onward and forward, etc.

2011 local and regional author holiday book buying guide.

As the nights get colder and you look for a book to curl up with, or for a gift for the readers (or those darned fools who should be reading!) in your life, there are hundreds and hundreds of choices. Well, here, I'll narrow this down to local and regional authors in (primarily, I promise!) science fiction and fantasy, presented along a few categories. Enjoy! (And if this isn't quite enough, there's always last year's list...)

(A brief aside for a local book-buying hint: I've largely given Goodreads links for the books here. Use the "online stores" dropdown to select IndieBound, and then use IndieBound's buttons to find it in a local store by zip code or city. And one more thing: there are a lot of Kindle and other e-books that I didn't list -- Wake Forest author Michael Jasper and Hertford, NC author David Niall Wilson, among others, I am so looking at you -- this list is really meant to be a "stuff I can pick up or at least order in a local bookstore by a local author, wrap up, and give to someone" list, with exceptions for a couple of digital-only audiobooks.)

YOUNG READERS:

• Hillsborough: John Claude Bemis's The White City (Random House Books for Young Readers, August) concludes his The Clockwork Dark trilogy, which began with 2009's The Nine Pound Hammer and continued with 2010's The Wolf Tree. Audiobooks (both boxed CD sets and giftable Audible.com downloads) for all 3 books are also available. Additionally, a paperback edition of The Wolf Tree came out this year
• Durham: Stephen Messer's The Death of Yorik Mortwell (Random House Books for Young Readers, September) is his second standalone book for young readers after last year's Windblowne. This one is a quirky ghost story, illustrated by Gris Grimly. Additionally, a paperback edition of Windblowne came out this year
• Charlotte: A. J. Hartley's Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact (Razorbill, October) introduces 11-year-old Darwen Arkwright, a boy who has just moved from England to Atlanta. R.L. Stine calls it "Fantastic, surprising fun!" and it received a positive review from the NY Journal of Books

FANTASY:

• Pittsboro: David Drake's Out of the Waters (Tor, July) is the second novel in his Books of the Elements tetralogy, which began with last year's The Legions of Fire which was released in mass market paperback earlier this year
• Raleigh: Clay and Susan Griffith's The Rift Walker (Pyr, September) is the second novel in their Vampire Empire trilogy, which began with last year's The Greyfriar
• Chapel Hill: Natania Barron's Pilgrim of the Sky (Candlemark & Gleam, December) is her debut novel, which Cherie Priest calls "... a lush, dreamy fable - both vintage gothic, and modern mystery ... lovingly laced with magic and darkness from start to finish." Pre-orders are being handled through a Kickstarter campaign as well as via B&N -- though I'm sure other local bookstores can figure out how to get the book to you
• Durham: Mur Lafferty's 5-book Afterlife series (Heaven, Hell, Earth, Wasteland, and War), originally released as podcasted audiobooks, were published in beautiful matching hardcover editions
• Raleigh: Lewis Shiner's 1994 World Fantasy Award-winning novel Glimpses was released in digital audio format at Audible.com
• Kelly Gay's The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Pocket Books, August) is book 3 in her Charlie Madigan urban fantasy series
• Lisa Shearin's Con & Conjure (Ace, February/March) is book 5 in her Raine Benares urban fantasy series
• Greensboro: Orson Scott Card's The Lost Gate (Tor, January) begins a new series called The Mither Mages -- also available in digital audio from Blackstone Audio
• Charlotte: Gail Z. Martin's The Sworn (Orbit, January/February) begins her second series, The Fallen Kings Cycle, in the same world as her previous, picking up after the events of her Chronicles of the Necromancer -- also available in CD, MP3-CD, and digital audio from Tantor Media
• NC: Teresa Frohock's Miserere: An Autumn Tale (Night Shade Books, July) is her debut fantasy novel, and begins a trilogy
• Georgia: J.M. McDermott's Never Knew Another (Night Shade Books, January) began his Dogsland Trilogy; additionally, a new paperback edition of his first novel Last Dragon was published by Apex early this year
• ex-NC: Tim Pratt's Briarpatch (ChiZine Publications, September)
• ex-NC: Tim Akers's Dead of Veridon (Solaris Books, May)

SCIENCE FICTION:

• Chapel Hill: Rebecca Rowe's Circle Tide (EDGE, August) is a "loose prequel" to her previous novel Forbidden Cargo
• Pittsboro: David Drake's Into the Hinterlands (Wake Forest-based Baen Books, September, co-written with John Lambshead) begins a new space opera series plotted against the life of George Washington.
• Pittsboro: David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series came to digital audio at Audible.com in April, narrated superbly by Stefan Rudnicki: At Any Price & Rolling Hot, The Sharp End, Counting the Cost & The Warrior, and Paying the Piper
• Raleigh: Mark L. Van Name's 2010 novel Children No More was released in mass market paperback by Wake Forest-based Baen Books
• High Point: Robin Parrish's Corridor (December) will be released in paperback and e-book by StoneHouse Ink -- a little more information here
• South Carolina: T.C. McCarthy's Germline (Orbit, July) was released as an original mass market paperback, and is also available in audio from Blackstone Audio

FICTION:

• Durham: David Halperin's Journal of a UFO Investigator (Viking, February) is not "properly" science fiction, but it was a novel I very much enjoyed and which freely borrows and uses science fictional techniques and elements -- also available in audio from Blackstone Audio
• Raleigh: Lewis Shiner's Dark Tangos (Subterranean Press, August) is a taut thriller set against Argentinian tangos and intrigue and last I saw, both The Regulator and Quail Ridge Books (which each hosted book signings) had signed copies in stock. Additionally,with new paperback editions of Say Goodbye and Slam this year, all of Shiner's previous novels are back in print in a "definitive edition" 6-book series. Some of these, including his first novel Frontera and later books Glimpses and Deserted Cities of the Heart, are speculative fiction novels, for those whose tastes are a little more exclusive, and the last of the six, Black & White, follows the construction of the Durham Freeway

COLLECTIONS:

• Hillsborough: James Maxey's There Is No Wheel (NC-based Spolight Publishing)
• Greensboro: Edmund Schubert's The Trouble with Eating Clouds (NC-based Spolight Publishing)
• ex-Raleigh: Jason Erik Lundberg's Red Dot Irreal

ANTHOLOGIES:

• Raleigh: Mark L. Van Name's The Wild Side (Wake Forest-based Baen Books) is an anthology of original urban fantasy stories "with an erotic edge", including a story from local writer Gina Massel-Castater
• Raleigh: John Kessel's Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka (Tachyon Publications, co-edited by James Patrick Kelly) -- there's a great chance to pick up a personalized/signed copy at a December 7th event at Quail Ridge Books
• Pittsboro: David Drake's story "Than Curse the Darkness" was reprinted in The Book of Cthulhu (Night Shade Books, September)
• Durham: Mur Lafferty's story "1963: The Argument Against Louis Pasteur" is in the Ann and Jeff VanderMeer-edited anthology The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (HarperVoyager, July), along with microfiction from Winston-Salem's Nadine Wilson and art from Greeville's Scott Eagle
• Durham: Richard Dansky is one of the contributors to Night-Mantled: The Best of Wily Writers, Volume 1
• Raleigh: Kij Johnson's story "Story Kit" is in the Jonathan Strahan-edited original science fiction and fantasy anthology Eclipse 4 (Night Shade Books, May, which also includes ex-local Andy Duncan's "Slow as a Bullet"); her 2010 story "Names For Water" appears in the Strahan-edited The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 5 (Night Shade Books, March, which also includes Raleigh author John Kessel's 2010 story "Iteration"); and her 2009 story "Spar" appears in the Kevin J. Anderson-edited anthology Nebula Awards Showcase 2011 (Tor Books, May)
• Raleigh: Eric Gregory's story "The Harrowers" is in the John Joseph Adams-edited anthology Lightspeed: Year One (Prime, November 15)
• Raleigh: Lewis Shiner's 1988 story "Love in Vain" appears in the Joe R. Lansdale-edited anthology Crucified Dreams (Tachyon Publications, February); and his story "The Long, Dark Night of Fortunato" is in the 1987 George R.R. Martin-edited anthology Wild Cards I, which was just released in audiobook format by Brilliance Audio, accompanying an updated 2010 print edition from Tor Books
• Durham: Richard Dansky's story "The Man Who Built Haunted Houses" is in Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror (Flames Rising Press, October)
• Greenville: Ada Milenkovic Brown's story "Nadirah Sends Her Love" is in Crossed Genres Quarterly #1 (January, edited by Natania Barron and Jaym Gates) and she has another story in the forthcoming anthology River: The Anthology (Dark Quest Books)

NON-FICTION:

• How to Write Magical Words: A Writer's Companion includes essays from regional authors Edmund Schubert, A.J. Hartley, Stuart Jaffe, and Mistey Massey
• 1,000 Steampunk Creations: Neo-Victorian Fashion, Gear, and Art includes a contribution from local jeweler and writer J.L. Hilton
• Hillsborough: Global Climate Change by Orrin H. Pilkey and Keith C. Pilkey, Duke University Press.

GRAPHIC NOVELS and COMICS:

• Firetower Studios released a trade paperback collecting the first several issues of the ongoing The Order of Dagonet by Jeremy Whitley (story) and Jason Strutz (art)
• Tommy Lee Edwards's TURF (Image Comics, story by Jonathan Ross) was released in hardcover, collecting the entire miniseires -- also available in a special limited edition alternate binding at Ultimate Comics
• Angi Shearstone's BloodDreams is "Vampire Punk" praised by Warren Ellis -- check it out online or in local comic stores
• Jeremy Whitley's Princeless is a subversive take on the archetypal "fair princess waiting in a dragon-guarded tower for rescue from a handsome prince" story -- from Action Labs, with issue #2 just released
• Greensboro: Orson Scott Card and Emily Janice Card's Laddertop, Volume 1 (Tor Books, September, art by Honoel A. Ibardolaza) -- also available in a digital audio adaptation narrated by Stefan Rudnicki

ROLE PLAYING GAMES:

• Bully Pulpit Games released the Fiasco Companion supplement to their GM-less storytelling game Fiasco -- the game is praised by Wil Wheaton as: “Fiasco was one of the greatest storytelling RPGs I’ve ever played. I highly recommend it.”

OTHER:

• Oh, I don't know, how about: a subscription to Bull Spec makes a great gift -- you can even do something creative like start with issue 5, to have issues 5-7 on hand for the holidays and issue 8 coming in February... Or just stuff a stocking with issue #7, available to pre-order now, or a brand-new subscription to last the whole year, starting with the imminently forthcoming issue #7...

Local events flyer for Winter 2011.

To accompany the full events newsletter, here's an easy one-page sheet to download, print, post, and hand around, covering November and December events:

Bull Spec local events e-mailing list: November 2011

Vol. 1, No. 6, November 1, 2011:

Welcome to the November events and announcements newsletter from Bull Spec! This time, a bit late instead of early. But there's plenty to talk about this month, starting with NC Comicon this weekend and continuing through author events, new books, and more author events in November and December. A couple of things which I'd hoped to have ready for this newsletter but aren't quite there are: 1. the second Bull Spec teen writing contest will begin soon 2. I will get a local author holiday gift guide together fairly soon as well, covering the books published this year by local authors. Look for details in the near future on the blog. Also, very (very) soon (I hope!) Bull Spec #7 will be published. One of these weeks...


Lastly, I cannot fail to mention that -- thanks to all of you -- the Bull Spec Year 3 Kickstarter was a great, great success. We raised over $2000, and I've finally got the ball rolling on getting the rewards into your supporting hands. Thank you, yet again.

-Sam

Update: 1-page PDF flyer available here.

NOVEMBER

1: Local author book release: John Kessel’s next anthology for Tachyon, Kafkaesque, collects “Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka”, including stories from JG Ballard, Terry Bisson, Borges, Paul Di Filippo, Jeffrey Ford, and more. Event on December 7 at Quail Ridge Books (see below). More info: http://tachyonpublications.com/book/Kafkaesque.html


1: The Kickstarter "pre-order" campaign for local author Natania Barron's debut novel Pilgrim of the Sky kicked off and is already off to a great start: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/candlemarkandgleam/print-release-of-pilgrim-of-the-sky?ref=live

5-6 (Saturday and Sunday): NC Comicon at the Morrisville Outlet Mall. A big lineup of artists and writers, a well-stocked dealer room, and more. A recent spot on NBC 17 is worth watching: http://nccomicon.com/?p=640 and there's a Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=151473324943296

NEW: 9 (Wednesday), 7:30 pm: Quail Ridge Books hosts L.E. Modesitt, Jr. for a reading and signing for Scholar, his newest fantasy novel: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=273997142640391

15 (Tuesday), 7:30 pm: Raleigh's Quail Ridge Books hosts Mary Doria Russell, author of The Sparrow, to present her latest novel Doc, a retelling of the life of "Doc" Holliday: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/mary-doria-russell-sparrow-author-doc

NEW-NEW: 18 (Friday), 6 to 8 pm: Gerry Canavan presents "Shipwrecked Passengers on a Doomed Planet" as part of Duke Univsity's Literature Grad Student Colloquium. "I’m presenting from chapter three of my dissertation, on ecology and apocalypse in 1970s and post-1970s science fiction[.]" More info: http://gerrycanavan.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/111811-shipwrecked-passengers-on-a-doomed-planet/

NEW: 26 (Saturday), 9 pm to late: The Gaslight Ball: A Steampunk Party at downtown Pittsboro's Davenport & Winkleperry: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=233637586690915

NEW: 29 (Saturday), 9 pm to midnight: The Blotter Magazine is celebrating its 100^th issue with a Barbecue Bash from 9 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Pinhook, 117 W. Main St., Durham, NC. Storm Front, http://www.stormfrontlive.com, and The Gonzo Symphonic Presents (http://www.facebook.com/#!/thegonzosymphonicpresents) will perform. The public is invited. "The Blotter Magazine, www.blotterrag.com, exists to nurture underground, outsider literature and art, and to provide it to a wide audience. Our mission is to encourage and support new writers and artists. We hope to see you there."

DECEMBER

7 (Wednesday) at 7:30 pm: Quail Ridge Books: John Kessel and Ruth Gross for "An Evening with Franz Kafka and Friends", including Kessel's newest anthology, Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka -- http://tachyonpublications.com/book/Kafkaesque.html


9 (Friday) at 7:00 pm: Quail Ridge Books: Cassandra Clare brings us her latest, Clockwork Prince.  In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting.Clockwork Prince is the sequel to Clockwork Angel, and part of theInfernal Devices trilogy.  For ages 12 and up.  Cassandra Clare is best known for her hugely popular Mortal Instruments series. SIGNING LINE TICKET EVENT - receive a signing line ticket with the purchase of any of Cassandra Clare's books. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/cassandra-clare-ya-novel-clockwork-prince


13: Local author new novel: Natania Barron, Pilgrim of the Sky from Candlemark & Gleam. "A novel that might be best described as mythpunk. With elements of fantasy, science fiction, Romantic poetry, steampunk, and multiverse theory, well, it isn’t exactly the sort of book that finds a comfortable little niche to sit in." More info: http://pilgrimofthesky.com/


NEW: 31 (Saturday), 9 pm to late: Downtown Pittsboro's Davenport and Winkleperry host The Clockwork Ball: A Steampunk Masquerade to usher in the New Year: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179760945440352

JANUARY 2012

2: Local author new novel: JL Hilton: Stellarnet Rebel from Carina Press, early 2012. "A science fiction romantic thriller." More info: http://jlhilton.com/stellarnet-rebel/

3: Local author new edition: The David Drake onmibus Voyage Across the Stars collects his Hammer’s Slammers novels Cross the Stars and Voyage. From Baen. More info: http://www.baen.com/order_isbn.asp?isbn=9781451637717

13-15: New local SF convention illogiCon (January 13-15, 2012) in Raleigh with literary guest of honor Joe Haldeman. More info: http://illogicon.com/

31: Local author book release: Solaris Books to publish the first book in a new fantasy series from Hillsborough author James Maxey, which starts with Greatshadow: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11511696-greatshadow

MARCH 2012

2-4: StellarCon (March 2-4, 2012) in High Point with literary guest of honor Patrick Rothfuss. More info: http://stellarcon.org/

JUNE 2012

1-3: ConCarolinas (June 1-3, 2012) in Charlotte with writer guest of honor Jack McDevitt. More info: http://www.concarolinas.org/

21-24: ConTemporal (June 21-24, 2012) in Raleigh with literary guest of honor Cherie Priest. More info: http://contemporal.org/

END